Assemblies of Chairs: The Politics of Spectatorship in Post-Traumatic Times

What modalities of spectatorship and performance are emerging today, and why? How do we gather in the face of crisis—ordinary and extraordinary—and violence—traumatic and not-quite-traumatic? What might be gleaned from contemporary performance for other genres of response to crisis, whether clinical, critical, or political? To what extent are psychoanalytic theories of trauma helpful for describing modalities of historical violence in the present? This essay approaches questions such as these by turning to 3 disparate yet resonant sites of recent performance: Combatant Status Review Tribunal, pp. 002954-003064: A Public Reading by Andrea Geyer et al. (2012); Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument (2013); and Rashid Johnson’s production of LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka’s play, Dutchman, at the East Village’s Russian and Turkish Baths (2013).     

Embracing Applied Policy Practice: A Case Study From a Robust BSW Program

This article, first presented at the Policy Conference 2.0 in Austin, Texas, May 2014, portrays a case example of an undergraduate social work program’s robust response to the imperative that policy advocacy serve as a demonstration to students of commitment to the profession and its mission. Initial evidence from field supervisors, students, and examples of recognition suggests that students are prepared to engage in policy advocacy as they enter the profession.     

Advertising unreasonable expectations: Nanny ads on Craigslist

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that while some domestic workers in the United States work in situations that are fair and decent, many others face conditions of abuse, degradation, and/or exploitation. These conditions are commonly seen as a “hidden” aspect of domestic work. This article asks if these conditions are really as hidden as is commonly assumed. Through a content analysis of nanny ads on Craigslist, we explore whether employers are willing to advertise their expectation that nannies will work under one of three unreasonable conditions: i.e., for low pay, long daily hours, and/or long weekly hours. Overall, we find that of the ads that specify how much pay a nanny is expected to work for as well as how long she is expected to work, many contain unreasonable expectations. By looking at how these expectations are expressed in these ads, we can see that these unreasonable expectations are generally presented in a matter-of-fact manner. This suggests that these employers do not find these expectations to be that remarkable, notwithstanding how unreasonable they are.     

Distance as a barrier to using a fitness-program benefit for managed Medicare enrollees

This study evaluated the effect of distance on the likelihood of initiating and maintaining regular use of a fitness-program benefit in a population of managed Medicare seniors. We studied 8,162 participants and nonparticipants in a managed-care fitness-program benefit: a structured group exercise program or an unstructured health-club membership. Participants in both programs lived significantly closer to facilities than nonparticipants did (structured, p < .001; unstructured, p = .017). Participants living closer to unstructured-program sites attended more frequently than those farther away (p = .008). Distance was not correlated with frequency of use in the structured program (p = .49). Collectively, these analyses demonstrate that distance is related to uptake and, in some cases, continued use of a fitness-program benefit. Health systems providing fitness-program benefits as a way to increase physical activity levels of their plan members should consider location of program facilities in relation to members' home addresses to maximize use of the benefit.     

Multiscale drivers of amphibian community occupancy in urban ponds

Urban Ecosystems - Urbanization has driven the loss of natural aquatic habitats while concurrently increasing the abundance of artificial urban ponds. Urban ponds are not typically designed for...